


Twilight Aurora

by kittymeow321



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Hope, Lance has a lot to think about, M/M, yeah I still don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 03:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16338845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittymeow321/pseuds/kittymeow321
Summary: Trying to figure out how things work after everything changesOr, Lance thinks about Keith for 4 seasons





	Twilight Aurora

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fic for the klance poetry exchange! I had some stuff typed up before but then I lost it all so w h o o p s. Anyway this is based off the poem Twilight Aurora by Silent One, which is also where the title comes from. I'm kind of proud of how I did getting feelings from the poem into the fic, so why don't you check it out? I tried a thing where each stanza of the poem got its own section of the fic and did not at all plan for how long it got, so tell me what you think!

Through the dining room. Down the hall. Past the training room… Silence. It feels like it’s been ages since anyone used this room. Lance knows this is stupid, they were all training in here just this morning, but… They weren’t actually all here. It feels great to be back to training with Shiro, to have him back after so long, but something is different. He’s not sure how much of it is from Shiro readjusting to being back and how much is from everyone else readjusting to having him back. And Lance is ignoring the part of him that is adjusting to the second change of leadership. He pushes thoughts of black blades and flippy mullets from his mind and keeps walking.  
  
The doors close solidly behind Allura and Coran, leaving Lance standing there with their abandoned glasses and the jilted cow. He crosses one leg in front of the other as he leans against Kaltenecker’s solid frame and offers her a few words of comfort and camaraderie before taking a drink. It really was good; they don’t know what they’re missing out on. If they weren’t going to drink it, then what was the point in pulling Lance away from his game? He was _this_ close to beating the boss, he just knows it! If they had just left him alone… Lance lowers the glass with a sigh and leans more heavily against Kaltenecker, taking comfort in her steady pulse and deep breaths against his side. It was time for him to find something else to do anyway. But what could he do? He obviously couldn’t help Allura or Coran with anything if this fiasco was anything to go by. Hunk and Pidge were probably still working with Matt, and Lance wouldn’t be able to pull the siblings apart yet even if he wanted to (which he didn’t). And Shiro… he might be alone, but he had been keeping himself busy ever since he got back. It seemed like there was always something for him to do: some charts that needed looking over, some plans that needed reviewing. He was becoming as much of a workaholic as- Lance cuts himself off at the sharp twinge in his chest, finishing what was left in the first glass as he straightens up. Walking back into Kaltenecker’s castle-made shelter, Lance lets a sliding panel open before he deposits both the empty and the full glass into the chute for the castle to sort out and deal with, trusting they would both make it where they needed to be in the end. And then he pauses. He stares at the panel for a long time after it closes, feeling both everything and nothing at the same time. It is a moo from Kaltenecker that pulls him away, as he looks and sees her large head turned back to him, tail flicking lazily. He gives her a weak smile and slowly makes his way over to her. When he comes close enough, he reaches out a hand, placing it on her warm flank, dragging it across her solid back and over her wide shoulders, resting it for a beat against her strong neck, feeling the coarse fur and the pulse thrumming with _life_. It isn’t until he’s holding her sturdy head in his hands, looking into those big eyes, that his breathing calms. Then, with one last stroke to her beautiful face, he makes himself let go, turns to the door, and focuses on his next step.  
  
The debriefing after the Kral Zera goes about as well as you’d expect it, all things considered. Even Kolivan seemed a little more tense than usual through the screen. It isn’t until after they end transmission with the Blade, hear a few finishing words from Allura and Lotor, and go their separate ways down the halls that Lance lets out his sigh though. Bombs. Of course they used bombs. Every time Keith shows up out of nowhere it’s always with explosives; it just seems to be his style to bust into your world with a bang and then disappear before the smoke can clear. Lance turns a corner, listening to the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls. He shouldn’t even be surprised that the same thing happened this time. Lance barely caught a glimpse of Keith down on the ground before all the fighting was over and he was gone again. It’s like he hasn’t changed at all from when this all started, all fights first and questions later, not seeing any other way through things. Lance feels a frown cross his lips as he turns down another hallway. He knows that isn’t right though; knows it isn’t fair to say that about him. Lance has _seen_ Keith’s growth; knows how hard he worked at being a leader and making those kinds of decisions. Knows how good he is at listening to ideas from others. Lance’s steps slow. He wonders what Keith would have thought of Lotor’s plan. Would he have liked it? Would he have trusted Shiro’s decision to go along with it? Or would he have sided with the others, sided with _Lance_ about needing to play things safer like he has in the past? Shiro’s sharp ‘Lance, this is not your call’ cuts through these thoughts, and Lance picks up the pace again, turning without thinking about where he is going. Maybe Shiro was right. Maybe Lance _should_ just stay out of this. Just because Keith listened to him every once in a while, didn’t mean that Shiro needed to. Heck, it didn’t even mean Lance ever needed to intervene in the first place. Shiro wasn’t Keith. Shiro had never needed second-guessing before, so there’s no reason he would need it now. The so-called greatness Allura sees within him had more to do with the team and the partnership than anything else. Not that there’s much of a partnership when _Keith isn’t even_ ** _here-_** Lance comes to a stop, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. Holds it for a minute before letting it out in a whoosh, whole body deflating along with it. When he loosens his hands and opens his eyes, he looks up and lets out a mirthless chuckle. The training room. Of course he wound up here. Where else would someone go when they were thinking about Keith? It had been so long since the last time Keith had even been here, but thoughts of one still seemed to lead to the other. The sigh Lance lets out now is one of acceptance rather than exasperation. There was nothing Lance could do about things that had already happened. If Keith _were_ here he would already be getting ready for their next move, ready to blow apart someone else’s carefully made plans. Lance lets out a quiet chuckle at this as he stands up straighter. Then he squares his shoulders, looks ahead with a ready grin on his face, and walks through the doors.  
  
The Sincline ships are just too strong. There are only three of them, but they zip past so quickly, seeming to be coming and going from every direction at once, that Lance can barely keep up. Their attacks are fast and dangerous, and Lance sees Hunk take a hit in Yellow before he turns Red back to the enemy and immediately needs to dodge another beam coming straight for them. He’s quick to steady them, getting ready to take a shot of his own, but it doesn’t matter because he and Red are being knocked to the side before the blast can even charge. Precious seconds are wasted while Lance’s only view of the fight is of the unassuming stars careening past on the screen. He pulls them to a stop as quickly as he can, turning Red back to the fight just in time to see Pidge and Green take a hit. And for another shot to be fired right at them. Time seems to slow as Green doesn’t move and Lance realizes that Red won’t be able to make it. Lance feels his heart stick in his throat, the blast nearly reaching the Green Lion. But it never does. It never does because suddenly Keith is there. Keith is there and now they’re all coming together again in a way they haven’t in such a long time. They form Voltron, and that’s happened so many times before, but how long has it been since it’s been like this? They form Voltron and it feels like it’s been years. It feels different and new but at the same time it feels oh so achingly familiar. Lance feels surer than he has in a long time. They look forward, all their team as one, and finally come together. They’ve gone from four against three to one against the universe, yet he thinks he’s never felt stronger. Then they’re moving forward, and the fight is on.  
  
Lance knew he missed Earth food, but he didn’t realize exactly how much until he took that first bite of Garrison rations. A military diet was never that great in the first place, and it’s made worse by the lack of resources, but it still tastes so much like home that Lance feels his eyes water. Well, it’s either that or the shock of being surrounded by his family again. Maybe a little bit of both. Lance would almost think this were a dream if it weren’t the comforting warmth of Nadia sitting in his lap while she eats her own food, fork held in a tight little fist, and his mom and brother pressed snuggly against his sides. The whole cafeteria is abuzz with conversation and laughter, most of it coming from his family and the Holts just a few tables away, and Lance lets the steady hum sink into his skin, making him feel calm and content. This isn’t the ideal situation to find Earth in, but it’s definitely not the worst either. Lance lets his eyes sweep across the room while Nadia leans back against his chest, trying to find the rest of the team. It’s easy to find Pidge, since she hasn’t left her parents’ sides since they got here. They’re all laughing about something just a few tables away. He finds Allura, Coran, and Romelle next, the three Alteans huddled over a single tray, investigating the food. Lance can’t help but smile at that and lets out a little chuckle as he continues his search. Shiro isn’t hard to find with his head of white hair standing out above the crowd. He’s standing towards the back near a wall, seeming to have a deep conversation with Iverson. Lance wonders if it’s something important, but files the thought away for later, knowing that Shiro would make sure the team was kept in the loop. Looking around again, he’s just starting to wonder where Hunk disappeared to when he spots Keith. He’s leaning against another wall with his arms crossed loosely over his chest and a small smile on his face, looking down at the wolf sitting silently at his feet. When Keith looks up, it’s to look at Shiro, and Lance notices the questioning look pass over his face even though the smile never leaves his lips. Next Keith looks to Pidge, watching her and her family with satisfaction. It isn’t until Keith’s gaze flicks to the Alteans that Lance realizes what he’s doing and, sure enough, after Keith’s eyes dart around the room for a few seconds, they come to land on him. Their eyes meet across the room and Keith blinks in surprise, smile falling off his face in shock. Before Lance can even process the look, Keith’s eyebrows are tightening and he’s giving Lance a quick nod before turning away, and Lance feels his own eyebrows tighten in response. He doesn’t know how to explain what’s been going on with Keith lately, but it’s weird. Sometimes they get along fine, but other times… other times Keith looks like he can’t stand being around Lance. They were never this way before Keith left, not even when they were fighting. At least Lance doesn’t _think_ they were. He feels himself frown at this. No, he’s positive that things have never felt like this between them before, especially not after Keith started piloting Black. This is definitely something new. What caused it though? Before he can think about it too much harder, Keith is pushing off the wall, bringing Lance’s eyes back to him as he starts moving away with his furry shadow sticking close to his side. Was it something Lance did? Did Lance do something to make Keith mad since he got back? He can’t think of anything he’s done out of the ordinary, so what’s the problem? Lance stares hard into the back of Keith’s head, wishing he could look inside and see what the problem is. Unfortunately, all he gets is the swish of Keith’s hair as he opens a door. Lance finds himself hoping Keith will turn around and look at him one more time, maybe give him some sort of answer. Keith pauses for a second, and Lance feels his breath catch. But then he starts walking again, moving himself out of both the room and Lance’s sight.


End file.
